To sail downwind it is advantageous to use some form of spinnaker. In the past it has been customary to use a spinnaker pole that is either affixed at one end to the mast or to the bow as seen in my prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,292,910 and 4,501,217. There are also retracting poles sometimes carried inside the hulls that extend forward to attach to the tack of a spinnaker. Recently as the result of sail developments, the asymmetrical spinnaker, that is one with a defined luff, has proven to be easier to handle and faster in off-wind sailing as opposed to the long established symmetrical spinnaker. The most popular pole is one that extends from the bow usually from a socket in the hull. This means that the spinnaker is only effective on a reach for when going downwind the spinnaker will be blanketed by the mainsail. For racing boats this means a deck mounted pole to extend to weather for this is not only more efficient but it balances the boat.
The only suggestions in the prior art of means to extend the luff of a sail other than on line are in the Rockwood U.S. Pat. No. 1,891,555 and in Graham Dalton""s new Open 60 with an articulating bowsprit. These bowsprits that have been developed are either housed on or under the foredeck and require care to get around the forestay deck attachment. Also they must be fairly long to get the necessary projection to weather. In general they are limited in the angle to which the poles may be articulated, generally about twenty degrees from the centerline.
The instant invention utilizes an existing structure that is commonly used for deck safety, the bow pulpit, as a base structure for mounting a short length bowsprit device or swinging gate that can lie along the lifelines when not in use. The swinging gate will thus comprise at least a horizontal member interconnected with a vertical support post with the vertical member hinged to the nose upright member of a bow pulpit. The invention enables an articulating bowsprit to be a rigid triangle constructed of stainless tubing instead of a large bulky tube.